By Adriana Pons

From the clear blue waters of the idyllic beaches to the lush green tropical El Yunque Rainforest, Puerto Rico is a small Caribbean island with many beautiful attractions. The island has been a U.S commonwealth since 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American war, when the Spaniards were forced to forfeit Puerto Rico. More than a century later, the influence of the U.S culture is pervasive throughout the island. While Puerto Rico certainly has plenty of large U.S-style shopping malls and huge SUVs, remnants of its Spanish colonial past are still in existence. Known as “la isla del encanto” (“the island of enchantment”), Puerto Rico is a place of many contrasts. Living on the island is similar to having one foot on the mainland U.S and the other in Latin America. This is especially true if you live in and around the capital city of San Juan.

Off the Beaten Path #6: Puerto Rico: A Guide to Unique Places
by Ron Bernthal

Perhaps nothing is more telling of a culture and its people than linguistics. Since Puerto Rico is considered to be part of the U.S, visitors coming from the mainland do not need to show their passports, both English and Spanish are the official languages. However, the majority of the population does not speak English fluently. Nevertheless, whether in conversations or newspaper articles, English words are often used in combination with Spanish. For example, you might hear someone say: “Tengo un issue con mi vecino” (“I have an issue with my neighbor”). Indeed, this hybrid of the two languages, Spanglish, reflects the tremendous U.S influence on the island. Culturally speaking though, most Boricuas (as Puerto Ricans are called) would identify themselves more with Spain rather than the U.S. This is because many Boricuas can trace their family roots back to the Iberian peninsula, as the Spaniards colonized the island for over 350 years.

To experience and get a feel for Puerto Rico’s Spanish colonial past, the best place to explore is be Old San Juan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With its narrow cobblestone streets, quaint plazas, 16th Century- built churches, and the San Cristóbal and El Morro forts built by the Spaniards, I find the historic section of the capital to be a wonderful and charming place to visit. The vivid colors of the buildings are emblematic to the Caribbean, and it gives Old San Juan more spice and flavor. Throughout the island’s smaller towns and cities, one will also find plazas and churches constructed by the Spanish colonialists. Occasionally, musical and artisans’ craft fairs, as well as farmers’ markets are held in many of the island’s plazas. Sadly though, what used to be a gathering place for the local communities are now usually derelict, as most prefer to visit the shopping malls.

This blend of American and Spaniard, as well as Caribbean, influences is what makes Puerto Rico so unique. Reggaeton, a type of urban music is a blend of hip-hop and latin music, is extremely popular on the island, and it reflects this great mixture of influences. On the other hand, one of the most obvious signs of American culture is the ubiquitous fast food chain. The island is filled with McDonald’s, Burger Kings Wendy’s and KFCs, amongst many others. As obesity has become an epidemic disease in the U.S, some estimate the problem to be even worse in Puerto Rico. The heavy reliance on automobiles as the primary mode of transportation, and Puerto Ricans’ love for their cars, is also something which seems to have been exported to the island from the mainland. There are an estimated 3.3 million cars in Puerto Rico, which has approximately 4 million inhabitants. In effect, almost everyone owns a car.

The majority of Puerto Ricans have embraced the American culture and its influence. However, when it comes to deciding on whether to join the U.S as the 51st state, the island has rejected this idea on three separate occasions. One of the primary reasons why most Puerto Ricans have voted to maintain the status-quo, to remain a U.S colony, is the strong desire to preserve the island’s culture and heritage. The other reason is because island residents do not pay federal taxes on income earned on the island. Although all Puerto Ricans hold U.S citizenship, most will not consider themselves to be American when asked of their nationality. Most will say they’re Puerto Rican, or Boricua. For the most part, the majority have grown complacent with regards to the island’s relationship with the U.S, mainly due to economic interests. Therein lies the paradox that is Puerto Rico.

All photos taken by Adriana Pons

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There’s a long ramble ahead, so if you just want to know more about Stephanie Lee’s new e-book The Art of Solo Travel: A Girl’s Guide, out now from Indie Travel Media Ltd., go right on over

When I was 20, I took my first steps out into the world of solo travel. I had just spent a month in Spain with a school group, and I was planning on ending my trip with a week in Holland visiting relatives. The week of travel that would take me from Spain to Holland felt like a trapeze stunt–I was released from Salamanca and I went soaring through the air, wildly hoping that I would be caught safe and sound by my relatives.

It was terrifying, nerve-wracking, amazing, lonely, and life-changing. I planned the trip out to the minute, and at my mom’s insistence I booked all my hotels ahead of time. Maybe that took some spontenaity out of the trip, but in the end it was a major relief for a first-time solo traveler.

I don’t book ahead anymore, I’m no longer afraid of French people, and I’ve learned how to ask for and receive directions in languages I don’t understand. I rarely remember to bring addresses and maps, but I usually end up where I’m going (remind me to tell you the story of when my dad let me plan our trip to New York. “I can’t believe I let you travel on your own all these years,” were his exact words. But we found the hostel eventually, right dad? And they eventually got us a new flight, didn’t they?).

What’s my point? It’s that traveling on your own for the first time can be terrifying.

Stephanie Lee parses through that terror in her new e-book The Art of Solo Travel: A Girl’s Guide. She answers questions like why travel and where should I go? Doesn’t it get boring eating alone every day? Is it safe? What should I pack? Stephanie draws from her own experience for this guide, discussing what gear she likes and why, what “essential items” she leaves at home (I agree about money belts–I keep taking one with me, but it never leaves the bottom of my backpack).

For girls (for anyone, really) who are contemplating taking that trapeze-leap of faith out into the world of solo travel, this is a great beginning guide, and a great reference. If you or someone you know has got the travel bug but is still nervous about diving in, you need this book.

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Sorry for the silence lately–we’ve both been working long hours trying to save up money for more travels, then biking long hours to relax, instead of sitting long hours at the computer.

Tripbase.com launched a project last fall to get travel writers to share their best-kept travel secrets. We participated, and now they’ve collected everyone’s posts into a series of ebooks. From their website:

The Story Behind the Secrets
This eBook series is the result of a unique collaborative project, the first of its kind to take place on the Internet.

Starting with just one blog post back in November 2009, the Travel Secrets project spread quickly with 200 amazing travel bloggers revealing their most closely guarded travel secrets.

The secrets were too good not to share! So we’ve compiled all 500 of them into a series of inspirational travel eBooks, available for free download right now!

From secluded beaches to bargain hotels, exotic foods and expert travel tips, this wealth of insider travel knowledge is available now, absolutely free!

You can download them here. For every download they’ll be donating $1 to Charity: Water.

We’re in the WorldWide Travel eBook, and there’s a ton of other great stuff in there about South America. Check it out!

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2. Reviewing Art of Solo Travel: A Girl’s Guide.
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This is the second installment of our many-word treatise on the sights included in Cusco’s Boleta Turistica. What’s the Boleta all about? Check out Part 1, where we take you on a walk to see the Inca ruins above Cusco.

Some of the Cusco area’s most interesting sites lie east on the road to Puno, but Tipón, an experimental agricultural site, and Pikillacta, an extensive pre-Inca settlement of the Huari culture, are probably the least-visited sites on the Boleta Turistica circuit, due to their relative inaccessibility.

They’re much more difficult to get to via public transportation, but so long as you don’t mind some waiting, some walking, and maybe a mad dash or two it’s entirely possible to visit these sites without booking a tour.

While you’re out there, check out Rumicolca, an aqueduct that blends Inca and Huari architecture, and the beautifully-painted church at Andahuaylillas.

For more photos, as always, check out Rob’s flickr page.

The easy way

Hire a taxi for the day. This will probably run you between S/.50-100 ($17-35), although make sure to ask a local what the going rate ought to be before agreeing on a price. You’ll probably be able to get recommendations through South American Explorers, travel agencies, or the iPeru office. We had plenty of taxi drivers offer their services for tours just while we were on routine inner-city trips with them–we don’t recommend taking anyone up on an offer like that. Although most guys are probably just looking to make a few extra bucks for a day’s commission, you can never be sure. We don’t condone our being responsible for your rash decisions.

The other way

Tipón and Pikillacta are located out on the road to Puno, about 25 and 30 kilometers away from Cusco, respectively. Buses pass by frequently on their way to Urcos, and they’ll drop you off at either site for just a few soles. Be prepared to get a lot of looks from the locals.

Buses leave frequently for Urcos from a terminal on Av. Huaruropata across from the “Estadio Garcilazo de la Vega” (#4 on the Cusco Nuts and Bolts map). The bus probably won’t be too full (or, at least it wasn’t on a weekday morning in January of 2010), and you should be able to catch it at any bus stop along the Avenida de la Cultura. Look for a card reading Urcos or Tipón in the window.

Tipón

Tipón was easily one of our favorite places on the Boleta. You’ll get off in the little town of Choquepata, a muddy little town full of cuyerias and cows. Don’t plan on eating lunch here unless you’re in the mood for cuy, roast chicken, or chicharron de cerdo (each dish S/.15 in every restaurant along the road). You can buy bananas and bread at the little grocery store near where the taxis wait if you don’t want barbecued flesh.

We had read in Exploring Cusco by Peter Frost that Tipón was only 5km from the road. We began to walk, uncertain of how else to get there, but then a collectivo taxi stopped for us and talked us into taking a ride with them. We were hesitant at first. It’s very far, we were told. At S/.4 apiece, though, it didn’t seem like a bad deal, and after a 20-minute ride straight uphill, we were grateful for the lift. Along the way, the collectivo also picked up a young guide who offered us his services for S/.20.

Tipón in the early morning was quiet, with amazing view of the valley below (the little town looks much more interesting from above). At the site there is a small ticket booth, where you can buy individual entries for S/.10, and a building with nice bathrooms.

A group of workers were playing football in one of the terraces, with two stationed on the terrace below to retrieve the ball. We watched them play for a while, but they split up as the first small tour group arrived.

Tipón is a fantastic example of the ingenuity that the Inca have in integrating water and other natural resources into their settlements. If you want to know exactly how cool they were, check out Tipon: water engineering masterpiece of the Inca empire, which you can read on Google books if you’re nerdy in that way like me.

Water is used playfully in Tipón. It’s irrigation, it’s ceremonial, it’s a relaxing garden. Water pours from a spring down the vertical irrigation slots in mini waterfalls–one of the few places that the Inca used this technique.

Hike up to the buildings on the ridge above, which the signs call “Intiwatana.” Peter Frost says it may be a fortress, and between the hike up to it and the view from it, I can believe that. An aqueduct runs through Intiwatana, bringing water from the mountain spur above it down to the Tipón terraces. You can hike along the aqueduct–apparently to another settlement a few miles away.

To get back down, either wait for a collectivo, or start walking. There’s a trail that cuts through the road’s switchbacks, and if you’re lucky you might be overtaken by a taxi. (We found one that charged us S/.2 each for the way down.).

Pikillacta

You can catch a taxi to Pikillacta for S/.10 (they wait at the intersection that leads up to Tipón), or wave down another bus. It’s a short ride and should only cost you a sol. These are the only ruins on the Boleta Turistica circuit that aren’t Inca, instead from the Huari culture whose empire spread throughout the Andes 500 years before the Inca.

The site is about a 1km walk from the road. Stop in the museum to get your ticket punched, and to check out the giant armadillo fossils that were found locally. There’s also a bit of information and some artifacts from the site.

After all the Inca ruins we’d seen, it was almost surprising that anyone would bother to build with such little rocks. We stared at the Huari walls, little stones piled precariously one atop the next, weak and fragile. Compared to Inca stonework it seemed to be child’s play.

The ruins are of a Huari administrative city, row after row of housing, walls crumbling into jagged peaks rising above the tall dry grass. Unlike most Inca sites, it’s built in the valley amid barren grasslands, rather than clinging to the peaks of the mountains, the city plan a rigid grid dropped onto the hill without any thought to following the natural curves of the terrain.

Additional sites

Rumicolca

You’ll be able to see the Rumicolca ruins from Pikillacta, on the other side of the road and up a little farther. You can’t miss it: a 12-meter-high gate which served as the southern border checkpoint for first the Huari, then the Inca. It’s an interesting blend of architectural styles.

Andahuaylillas

Andahuaylillas is known for its church. Built by the Jesuits in the late sixteenth century, it’s covered with beautiful murals and embellished with gold leaf, and said to be one of the finest examples of Peruvian colonial art.

Don’t miss the small coca museum right next to the church, which has an interesting collection of displays about Andean religion, both historically and contemporary.

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It’s a conundrum. In order to see some of Cusco’s best ruins and museums you need a ticket that covers 16 different sites. It’s got a hefty price tag of S/.130 (about $45), but it’s a decent deal if you hit all the sites.

But you have limited time and want to visit only a couple sites? That’s really too bad. All but a few of the lesser-known, out-of-the-way sites require the Boleta Turistica. It’s possible to buy partial tickets for S/.70 (one covering Cusco area and one covering the Sacred Valley), but how many people visit only one set of sites?

Back in January we made a mad dash to see all 16 sites in the 10-day period before the ticket expired. We were hailed out, bussed out, I spent a day in bed with food poisoning, and at the end we were very, very sick of Inca ruins and the Spanish bastards who kept knocking them down. But, dear readers, we made it. All for you.

Over the next four weeks we’ll outline the 16 different sites and tell you what your options are to get to them. You may not see them all, but hopefully we can help you decide which ones are worth seeing (*ahemskipthemuseumsahem*).

And, as a special bonus feature, we’ll encourage you to visit three more sites (Cusco’s good museum, a salt factory and More! Inca! Rocks!) that aren’t included in the Boleta Turistica.

The Sites of the Boleta Turistica

• Week 1: four sites above Cusco: Saqsayhuamán, Q’enqo, Pukapukara, and Tambomachay
• Week 2: two sites on the road East of Cusco: Tipón and Pikillacta
• Week 3: four sites in the Sacred Valley: Chinchero, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Moray
• Week 4: six museums inside Cusco: Museo Siteo Qoricancha, Musea de Arte Contemporaneo, Museo Historico Regional, Monumento Pachacuteq, Museo de Arte Popular, and Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo.

Cusco City Tour

Every tourist agency in Cusco will try to sell you a City Tour, which includes a visit to the four “Week 1″ sites in the list above, as well as a stop at Qoricancha and the Cathedral. That’s probably the easiest and fastest way to check these four off the list, but you don’t want to board a bus crammed with 25-30 other tourists.

That’s not why you read Unpaved South America.

If you’re planning on going out guideless to visit any of the sixteen sites (and especially if you plan to do much hiking or walking), we highly recommend that you buy Exploring Cusco by Peter Frost. Everything we learned about Cusco and the Sacred Valley came from this book. Really. Amazon is selling used copies for $50 (!) but save yourself some money and help local economies: buy it in nearly any Cusco bookstore for about $10.

If you decide to go your own the easiest way is to take a bus or taxi to Tambomachay and make your way downhill. You can hire a taxi for about S/.10-20 (ask a local how much the going rate is), or take a bus or combi from the Rosaspata Market (# 3 on the Cusco Nuts and Bolts map). The “Huerta” combi or the larger bus to Pisac will both drop you off at Tambomachay for S/.1, and the “Cristo Blanco” combi will take you, predictably, to the Cristo Blanco statue that overlooks Cusco. From there it’s just a short walk to Saqsayhuamán (hereafter to be known as Saqs) or Q’enqo.

Tour company: S/.30
Bus and feet: S/.1

Tambomachay and Pukapukara

However you get here, try to do so early (10 at the latest) so you can avoid the onslaught of tour buses. Most of them hit Qoricancha first before heading up to the hills, so you have a bit of time before the first arrivals.

Tambomachay’s control point is open from 6:30 to 6:30, or at least that’s what we were told in January. Check around for up-to-date info. It’s thought to be a ritual bathing site, a lovely example of the Inca art of “perfecting” nature by refining and channeling it, taking a natural spring and beautifying it. (For more on Inca architecture as art, check out White Rock by Hugh Thomson [link to buy book at Powell's]. It’s a funny, well-thought-out jaunt through the Inca Heartland, and you’ll find it in nearly every book exchange in Peru.).

We arrived early to find the gauntlet of vendors just setting up, laying out their wares on gently sloping sod plots studded with dandelions. An old man greeted us with a Quechua-accented “Buenos tardsh,” and humored me a few questions about names of local plants. Someone had a radio playing tinny huayno music. Where normally Cusco’s vendor swarms are voracious, here everyone was relaxed, unconcerned with a few threadbare backpacking gringos, waiting for the arrival of the first tour buses.

Pukapukara shares a control point with Tambomachay, so make sure to get both sites punched on your ticket. It was thought to be a tambo, a sort of lodging place and customs checkpoint. Like everything Inca, the ruins crown a hilltop with beautiful views of the valley below, the walls undulating with the terrain.

When we arrived a nice young man named Javier was soliciting people for mini guides for a tip of S/.5-10 or so. Javier told us that under the ground is a quartz stone which the Incas used to meditate with. The Spaniards destroyed it and covered it over, but apparently Pukapukara is still a popular place for mystics. He also saved us several miles of backtracking by pointing us in the right direction for our hike to Q’enqo. Thanks, man.

Walking from T&P to Q

Once you’ve spent some good time wandering around Tambomachay and Pukapukara, it’s time to move on to Q’enqo. You can either wait for the “Huerta” combi to take you back down the hill (they come every 10 minutes or so), or if it’s a nice day and you fancy a walk, it’s only about 6km (3.8 miles), and you’ll get a chance to explore a handful of other random Inca rock confections. You did bring your rain poncho, didn’t you?

From the entrance to Pukapukara look back down the road to Cusco. There should be a stand of eucalyptus on the left hand side. A path leads downhill from the road–Javier told us that it’s a path “that even the blind can follow,” though it can be a bit tricky to find at first.

There’s a clearer path that heads down into the river valley below Pukapukara, but don’t follow that one. Instead, pass the eucalyptus and head along the road until you’re on the Inca path. This is the Inca road to Antisuyo (the eastern jungle quadrant of the empire). Farther towards the jungle, a long stretch of this road has been popularized as the Inca Trail. You may have heard of it.

After a few minutes you’ll pass near a little town, Wayllarcocha, which has a few roadside restaurants for lunch. The Inca Path keeps going and veers away from the main road, past fields and ponds, adobe walls with cactus growing out of them, cows and bright teal flies. After a mile or so the path widens and washes out, fans like a delta. To the left it leads up onto a granite outcropping edged by an adobe fence. To the right, it heads down into a valley. Go right. The path heads east, away from the road, into a narrow valley of farmland.

Please don’t step in people’s crops–for some it’s their only meager livelihood. Rule of thumb: stay on the path, and if it’s green, leave it alone.

Eventually you’ll come to a small gorge. The trail will split again, and down below you should see a set of ruins that we thought at first were an old quarry. The left trail leads through a stand of eucalyptus to a wide flat hill with a pretty view on all sides of the Cusco valley, hills and fields. From there the trail peters out, but you can head downhill back through the eucalyptus and carefully pick your way down the hill until you’ve reached the bottom of the “quarry.”

Alternately, you can take the trail to the right, which clings to the wall of the gorge, and will take you to the top of the “quarry.”

The “quarry” is a large granite outcropping, flat-topped with a grassy plateau. There is terracing above and below, drainage channels running along the lower north side. It’s been excavated, and the old Inca stones are neatly stacked as though the archaeologists meant to put them back but never got around to it (you’ll see this a lot in Peru). The rock juts out like the prow of a ship, stair-stepped channels carved for water on either side, though it’s dry now.

We met a woman, Señora Hipolita, who told us the name was Qoriwaynachina, but she didn’t know anything more about it. Turns out that Qoriwaynachina is also the name of some ruins discovered by the fantastic Peter Frost on Cerro Victoria in the Vilcabamba Range. The name means “where wind was used to refine gold.”

Señora Hipolita told us to make our way down through the valley, past an Inca wall that cuts across the valley like a dam. We’d find an Inca jail, she said, and about a kilometer beyond that, the Temple of the Moon.

At this point in our story, we were caught by a hailstorm and had to take shelter in the rocky hills up to the left of this dam for over an hour before making a mad dash through the unceasing rain, only to return to finish our walk another day. That won’t happen to you. But you brought your rain poncho anyway, right?

The Inca Jail is two large stones leaning against each other, forming a cave which the Incas carved out into a series of niches, one of which was filled with wilting flowers. It didn’t seem much like a jail, but it did provide great cover in a hailstorm.

Just beyond the Inca Jail the valley begins to spread out. Cross right over the hump of the hill, rather than continue down the ravine. You’ll see the outcropping of the Templo de la Luna. Or, continue to hug the curve of the ravine and walk along the little creek upstream, pass a carved rock outcropping with stepstones, cross the river and climb up from there. You’ll be directly in front of the Templo de la Luna either way.

Inca Trail, Cusco & Machu Picchu: Includes Santa Teresa Trek, Choquequirao Trek, Vilcabamba Trail & Lima City Guide
by Alexander Stewart

The Temple is another massive stone outcropping that has been carved. The remains of a settlement have been roped off and are under excavation, but you can climb up the southwest side to find a cave and some fissures with carved steps. The lowest cave contains an altar, decorated on the day we went with multi-colored confetti and coca leaves. A shaft of sunlight bathed the altar, and the cave smelled faintly sweet, of coca or incense or chicha. The cave is two chambers with a carved door between them, all sharp angels, 90 degree planes combining with the swooping natural stone. Stone benches have been carved in the antechamber, the rock smooth and shiny from centuries of use.

Standing at the entrance to the cave, you can see two options to continue on your walk. Either head east toward the houses (a little settlement called Villa San Blas)–from there you will be able to see Q’enqo downhill of you. Or take the road that leads downhill to your left. This path is marked as the Antisuyo trail, and has a nice little sign explaining the Inca royal roads, the Qapac Ñan. If you follow that path for a little bit you’ll come upon the Temple of the Monkey, another carved outcropping with strange little carved places and narrow passageways through them, one curiously perfect raised circle carved near the top.

Q’enqo

Q’enqo is a welcome relief after you’ve seen to many examples of “fine Inca stonework.” It’s a limestone outcropping shaped with haphazard carvings (if you walked from Pukapukara you’ve seen a fair amount of this already, but Q’enqo is pretty killer). The name means “zigzag,” a reference to the carvings on the limestone monolith at the site. It’s widely believed to be used for religious ceremonies, with a large semi-circular amphitheater, and religious carvings.

Just below Q’enqo is the outcropping known as Q’enqo Chico. It is a hill surrounded by a massive stone retaining wall and a moat. You can climb up to the top, a wide green field, a tumble of rocks aesthetically carved. Sweeping curves and sinewy sinuous staircases and niches. Sometimes hard to tell what’s been carved and what’s natural. Handholds? Or just erosion.

This was by far my favorite Inca site.

Cristo Blanco and Saqsayhuaymán

From Q’enqo follow the road to Cusco around a few bends. You’ll see the Cristo Blanco statue, a gift from Palestinian Refugees, ahead of you. Pass in front of the statue and go over a small rise, where you’ll see Saqs. It’s a “must see,” not far enough to escape the sirens of the city, the traffic of the road, and the swarms of tourists who weren’t as hardcore as you were.

It’s best known for the absolutely massive stones that make up the zigzagging walls, and for being one of the few places that the Incas gave the Spaniards a run for their money. Today the wide flat grass plaza in front of the walls is used for the Inti Raymi ceremony every June, and for Cusqueña family picnics on sunny summer days.

Like many Inca sites, Saqs was used for centuries as a stone quarry for locals building their own homes. That was its main source of worth until it was discovered that tourists would flock to it, and, like many historical places, it was found to be worth more as a tourist attraction than a source of pre-dressed stones.

From Saqs, follow the steep pedestrian path back down into the city, admiring the views along the way.

And nurse your sore feet, because you still have 12 more sites to see!

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By Genny Ross-Barons

A bunch of years ago I heard the word Roatan. For some reason, I felt the need to investigate…I started Googling. When my research showed that Roatan, an island in the Caribbean ocean off the coast of Honduras, was popular with divers because Roatan is part of the Worlds Second Longest Barrier Reef, I figured I would drop it.

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I had done my fair share of traveling to Caribbean Islands, but I’m not a diver, heck I can barely swim. But I couldn’t let go of Roatan, I needed to know more about it!

Roatan History was intriguing, and I was due for a holiday. I decided to visit the Island for the first time in April 2007, and I was not disappointed. I found the crystal clear blue Caribbean ocean surrounding beautiful white sand beaches, and lush tropical jungle climbing from the shore to the highest ridges.

There is plenty to see and do on Roatan: stroll through the Market in Coxen Hole, or visit the Roatan Tropical Butterfly Garden. For the more adventuresome, Roatan also offers zip-line adventures, horseback riding, sailboat cruises, and you can swim with the dolphins at Anthony Key Resort.

When I returned to Canada after a few weeks on Roatan, I realized that Roatan wasn’t just a place to go on vacation, for me it offered the way I wanted to live – The Roatan Vortex had pulled me in….

I moved to Roatan it August 2007, and immediately knew it was the right decision. Oh sure, Roatan has its quirks; occasionally finding a scorpion taking a nap under my pillow, semi-regular power outages, and everything made of metal rusts—to name a few. But it also offers a slower pace lifestyle, warm tropical breezes and glorious sunsets, and I now know what an Orange really tastes like.

Roatan also gave me something I could have never anticipated—becoming part of a Global Village.

When I first arrived to Roatan, everywhere I went I was welcomed by those who came from other countries around the world, and now call Roatan home. I can honestly say that I spend my time on Roatan with good friends from Holland, Ireland, England, Poland, Argentina, Italy, USA, Honduras, Guatemala, and Canada. We get together for pot-luck-dinners, to celebrate special occasions (“just because” is considered an occasion). We meet at each other’s homes, at the soft white sand beach bars; Bananarama, West Bay Beach and at patio restaurants Oasis Pool Bar and Lounge.

So when you come to Roatan, whether it be for a week or a lifetime, and you are, let’s say, strolling down the sand road, in West End, be sure to stop in to a local establishment such as Sundowners for a cool drink. Start chatting with the person sitting next to you—you too will be welcomed into the Global Village of Roatan.

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1. Dichotomy in the “Island of Enchantment”

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Welcome to Centro Lima, Peru: Nuts and bolts. In regards to bus travel in Lima; if you’re not sure if the bus in front of you is going where you want to go, then ask. Just blurt out the area or a landmark to the bus wrangler (the guy standing in the door yelling at you). This time, all information will be on the interactive map. This map is a key to getting around Lima (by bus) from the Centro area, and to find nearby bus lines or the Train station. There are many more notable landmarks in Centro Lima, but you can find that stuff everywhere. So, check this out. Click the map to get to the interactive map page.

If there is any bus information missing or anything that you (the reader) would like to add fee free to contact me at, Robert@UnpavedSouthAmerica.com

Summer in February: A Memoir of Lima, Peru and Its Beaches
by Marie Mcnair Alvarez-calderon

Related posts:

1. Magdalena, Lima Peru: Nuts and Bolts
2. Cusco Peru: Nuts and Bolts
3. Nuts and Bolts: Trujillo and Huanchaco

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This is the Second installment of Traveling and Portraits in Peru and again we meet great “5 minute friends” and wonderful long term buddys. Looking at all of these photos brings back good memories and helps cement them in my brain for a little while longer. Please feel free to do the same. Enjoy.
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Crazy snake and turtle and lizard sauce guy, in Chiclayo Lambayeque Peru.

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Teo, our guide to the Gocta waterfall, outside of Chachapoyas Amazonas Peru.

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Two very well paid and well placed children ready for a photo. Cost S/.2 (60 cents.)

Passing a donkey driver going the other direction on the Santa Cruz trek, Huaraz Peru.

Flor, our good friend and waterfall search buddy in Celendín Peru.

Volcón, Washi's driver in his quest for mayor of Ollantaytambo Cusco Peru.

Baker in Piasc Peru, chilling.

Eddie, Washi's brother laughs as he gets more and more paint everywhere.

Hayde Bracamonte Flores was a very kind and helpful person who has the stern look of a hardened book keeper, Huanchaco Peru.

Unknown tailor in the market in Arequipa Peru.

Pablo poses with tough face for two tourist that "must be lost."

A young boy on one of the Islands of Eros in Lake Titikaka, outside of Puno Peru.

A bus driver who I got to know in the 35 minute ride of terror from Urubamba to Pisac.

Thank you for visiting this Photo Essay and please comment if you enjoyed it.
Cheers,
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Related posts:

1. Photo Essay: Peruvian Futból Portraits
2. Traveling and Portaits in Peru: Part 1
3. Midweek Snack: Chicharron de Pescado

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